Phantasy Star: Fringes of Algo

The other half of Heartbeat, Heartbreak; this one about Rolf and Amy.

(February 14, AW 1286- Paseo)

"Hey, Rolf!"

Looking up from his desk, Rolf noticed a small group of fellow Agents headed out of Central Tower's Investigative Department. The speaker, a tall scruffy-looking man, continued, "Rolf, we're headin' out to the bars to celebrate! Wanna come with us?"

"Celebrate?" Rolf asked. "What for?"

"It's V-Day, Rolf!" The Agent laughed. "Don't you have someone to spend it with?"

Rolf blanched, tensing slightly at the Agent's remark. "Well, I've got friends, but no gir-"

"So come on and join us, Rolf! You can go get drunk, and maybe pick up a girl while we're pubcrawling!"

"I've always wanted to see Eushys drunk," another Agent, this one a blue-haired female, commented, smirking at Rolf.

"Shelly, I don't plan on getting drunk. Not like Robinson here. Remember what happened last year?"

"Hey! Rolf, I'm telling ya, that bar trashed itself!" The tall Agent laughed again. "C'mon, come with us. You might enjoy yourself!"

"Well, Rob, I-"

Rolf was interrupted by a gentle ka-ling! coming from his visiphone. With a sigh, he told Robinson, "Hang on a second."

"Go ahead, answer your phone, Rolf. That might be your Valentine's Day savior."

"Hmm. I wish I could be Eushys's V-Day savior," Shelly said. "Rolf, please, save me from Robinson and O'Connor and Day."

"Shelly, we dated like, three times when I was seventeen."

"And I remember the kisses well, Rolf Eushys. ^_^"

Ignoring Shelly, Rolf looked at the phone's screen. "Text message," he muttered.

"Well? Answer it, man! This could be the best day of the year for you!"

"All right, all right, guys." Rolf tapped a key on the phone to display the message; noticing Robinson leaning over his desk, Rolf leaned back, tucking the phone close to his chest. "Privacy, Rob?"

"Oh, yeah. Sorry."

Today
From: Amy
To: Me
Rolf, are you busy tonight? If not, may I come over? I don't want to spend Valentine's Day alone.
~Amy

Rolf raised an eyebrow at the text message; he and Amy had dinner a few times over the past few months, but he hadn't thought anything about it.

"So, who's this Amy?" Robinson asked.

"You know her. The doctor from Oputa... don't you dare. Don't you dare say anything, Robinson!" Rolf replied, his voice becoming a nervous shout. "She's just a friend, that's all!"

"Yeah, a friend with E-cups! Sounds like you've got a date for Valentine's Day, Rolf!"

"Rob, she's not a date, really."

"Eushys, if you were having a woman come over to your house for Valentine's Day, you should have told us from the beginning!" Shelly teased.

His face turning red, Rolf tried his best to ignore the catcalls and teasing of the Agents, concentrating on his visiphone. He typed out a quick reply, then waited for a few seconds for another message.

"Hey, Rolf, we're gonna head on out now," Robinson told him. "Have fun tonight!"

"You guys too, all right?"

The Agents left, leaving Rolf at his desk, pondering their words. Just a friend, he thought. I've been there for you after you and Hugh split up, Amy. You're a great frien-

The phone beeped again, letting Rolf read the message on screen: "Thanks. I'll be over in about an hour."

Nodding as if she were there, Rolf stood up. Looks like I'm making dinner, then. He tapped a few numbers into the phone, then listened as it rang. Pick up. Pick up... "Hello? ...Yes, yes. I'd like to order a delivery..."

-=-=-

She had seen him quite a few times over the past two years, but Amy never could get used to seeing Rolf without his armor. Somehow, the idea of Rolf Eushys, Private Citizen seemed to be one she could never reconcile with Rolf Eushys, Agent of the Motavian Security Administration. It didn't matter to her, though- Rolf was Rolf, no matter what he wore. The blue-haired man had acted as an emotional anchor for Amy, letting her cry on his shoulders whenever the subject of Hugh, their engagement, and subsequent breakup had come up. They had embraced several times, and she had to admit, Amy enjoyed the feeling of at least being held by someone.

But Amy was confused, wondering about Rolf: Was he doing this for her just to be a friend, or was there something more? She did feel something similar to what she had with Hugh, but she wasn't sure just how to react to those feelings. Best not to worry about it too much, she decided. You made a promise about this tonight, and you're going to honor it. Even if Hugh isn't here.

Taking a deep, reserved breath, she adjusted the white bag she clutched in her hand, then knocked on the door. It opened after a second, and on the other side, Rolf stepped back to allow Amy inside. "Oh, hey, Amy. C'mon in."

"Thanks, Rolf. How are you today?"

Rolf shrugged. "Fine, I guess. Desk duty's boring as hell, same as always."

"It is, but paperwork does have to be done from time to time. How's Shir?"

"Shir's Shir. Here. Let me get your cape."

Amy relaxed, letting Rolf take the white cape she usually wore from her shoulders. As he hung it carefully in his closet, he asked, "What's in the bag?"

"Oh, it's..." Amy paused, glancing down nervously at the bag, before she said, "A bottle of wine. And something else, but... that can wait a while."

"Wine?" Rolf asked, surprised. "You drink?"

"It's a special occasion, Rolf- even though we're both unattached, we can still at least have some wine with dinner." Amy gave a quick sniff, then smiled. "Is that shrimp? And noodles, too, Rolf?"

"Mmhmm. Fried rice, too- I think I got all your favorites," Rolf replied. He gestured to the two plates on his kitchen table- one laden with shrimp, noodles and rice; the other bore small pieces of beef and broccoli with rice. "I'll go get the corkscrew, Amy. Please, have a seat."

Rolf pulled a chair out for Amy, who blushed as she sat down before the plate of Chinese food in front of her. Rolf's always been nice like this, she thought. Not like Hugh. Hugh was nice, but Rolf respects me.

After a few seconds, Rolf returned, corkscrew in hand. "The kitchen's a mess, Amy," he explained. "It was kinda tucked away in a drawer."

"Good thing Shir didn't wind up 'borrowing' it," Amy joked, giving a smile.

"She might have at one point. We don't know," Rolf replied. He struggled with the corkscrew and the wine bottle for a few seconds, then poured some wine for the redhead. "How are you?" he asked. "Work treating you all right?"

"It is, thank you, Rolf. Not too busy, happily, but without Mother Brain, people are taking more risks with their lives. I suppose either way, that's a good thing."

"It is, but nobody really wants to hurt themselves," Rolf replied, pouring some wine for himself. "You holding up all right? If you don't want to talk about it-"

"No, I don't mind." Amy took a sip from her wine glass; Rolf blushed at the usual subtle grace and calmness of her movement. "Everyone at work keeps telling me that it wasn't meant to be between Hugh and I. And some of them think that I could have done much better than him. But I loved him, despite his quirks. Seeing him constantly wonder what his life would have been like with Rita, after he proposed to me... it was insulting."

"I can only imagine."

"I should have thought something was wrong when he started confusing my favorite things with hers," Amy added. Seeing the troubled expression on Rolf's face, she then said, "I... I'm sorry, Rolf. I just-"

"No, Amy, I don't mind," Rolf pleaded. "If you still want to talk about it..."

"A little bit. Rolf, I really thought that Hugh and I were going to spend tonight together. But instead-"

The tears started to flow from Amy's eyes. Calmly, Rolf rose from the table, walking around it to be by Amy. "Oh, God, Amy, I'm sorry. I-"

"*sniff* I'm fine, Rolf. Thanks for your concern, though." She gave him another smile; one Rolf found beautiful despite Amy's tears. He hesitated for a second while the doctor composed herself before returning to his chair.

The rest of their dinner passed with the chatter of two friends catching up with each other. "You're still all right with just being Shir's friend?" Amy asked as she finished the last of the noodles on her plate.

"Yeah. It's... it's what I was expecting to happen, in all honesty," Rolf replied. He speared the last piece of his dinner, then continued, "It was nice to date Shir and all, but it's a lot better to be friends. She's a bit of a handful at times."

"Of course." Pushing her empty plate away, Amy stood up. "Rolf, thank you again for dinner. It was wonderful. You didn't have to do this-"

"I don't mind, Amy," Rolf replied, taking the empty plates from the table. "Really. You wanted to come over, so I thought I'd surprise you."

"It's sweet of you." Once Rolf turned around, Amy blushed. He's gentlemanly... she thought, her eyes drifting from Rolf's back to the white bag in the living room. "Rolf?" she asked.

"Yes?"

"Do you mind if I freshened up? The noodles were a little messy."

"Of course. The hall bathroom's out of commission, ever since Kain was over last week. There's one attached to the bedroom, though. Feel free to use that one."

"Oh! Thank you, Rolf!"

She waited a few seconds, listening for the sounds of Rolf starting to wash their dishes, before taking the large bag from the living room. As she headed through Rolf's house, Amy sighed, her blush returning. I promised Anna and Shir that this was going to be Hugh's Valentine's Day surprise, she thought as she looked into the bag. It's not for Hugh anymore, but... hopefully it will be for someone more worthy. Someone like Rolf.

Someone wonderful like Rolf...

-=-=-

The dishwasher was running, the leftovers from dinner were sitting on a shelf in Rolf's fridge, and the two chairs had been tucked back under the kitchen table. Rolf sat down on the living room couch, waiting patiently for Amy, flipping through a TV listing.

She's been in there for about fifteen minutes, he thought. I hope she's not crying in there...

He flipped through the listings, trying to find a movie that Amy might like. After about two minutes, he sighed, then set the listing down on the couch. I should go check on her, he decided. He walked down the hallway into his house, passing his bathroom- I should go call a plumber for that- stopping at his bedroom door. Weird. I never keep it closed. "Amy?" he asked, trying to call to her through the door. "Are you all right?"

"I'm fine, Rolf..."

Rolf started to call to her again, but paused. Something to him seemed off. Amy sounded like she was right there, he considered. There's no way she could have heard me in the bathroom... Confused, he opened the door, stepping into his bedroom. He made it only two steps in before pausing in complete surprise at what awaited him.

Amy's back was turned to him, her yellow dress and boots abandoned in favor of clothing Rolf never would have considered the redhead to ever wear: High heels, stockings rising to her thighs, held up by a garter belt, panties, and the back strap of a bra, all powder pink. The shapes of roses could be seen in the lacy cuffs of the stockings, stretched tight against the doctor's legs.

"A... Ah... Amy?!" Rolf stammered, taken aback by Amy's sudden change of attire.

Calmly, Amy turned around, facing Rolf. She clutched a satin fan in her right hand, holding it in front of her face, leaving her eyes the only visible part of her face. Amy gave the agent a wink, then whipped the fan to her side with a flourish. "Well, hel-lo, Rolf Eushys," she said, her voice a seductive whisper.

Amy's back was surprising enough as it was; Rolf didn't think his heart could take a view of Amy's front: The doctor's entire midriff was bare, revealing an amethyst hanging from a small charm in her navel. His mind wandered quickly from each of her pink-painted nails, then to her cleavage, then her lips, a seductive smile accented with shiny red lipstick.

"I.. uh... Amy, I... uh..." was the only articulate thing Rolf could manage to say.

"So, what do you think?" Amy breathed, taking a step towards Rolf.

Oh God, oh God, what do I say? WHAT DO I SAY!? "Uhh... you're..." He struggled for a moment before saying, "You're beautiful!"

"Oh? Just 'beautiful?'" Amy teased. "I'm glad you think that, Rolf. Surprised?"

"Well, yeah! It's... it's not every day I see one of my friends in lingerie and lipstick, Amy!" Rolf was fighting a nosebleed, trying to urge himself to remain calm. "I mean... Amy, I'm... you look great and all, but- I don't know what to say!"

"Well, take all the time you need, then."

"Look, Amy, really. This is... what's this about?"

"Rolf, this was supposed to be a surprise. For someone I thought worthy..." Amy took another step towards Rolf, this one less confident. "I wanted to surprise someone special on Valentine's Day. When Hugh and I split up, I was crushed. I've never felt so down like that. But then you asked to spend some time with me. You..." Her voice broke, and she started to cry again. "Rolf, you were like a knight to me, offering a hand like a ray of light."

"Amy... I..."

"You made me happy, all this time, Rolf. It sounds like every bad romance novel I've ever read, but..." She looked up, and Rolf swore he could see a sparkle in Amy's blue eyes. "Rolf, you were my knight. I thought you'd like this... I've thought about you these past five months."

Rolf was stunned. It was true, at times he'd had feelings for the redhead, but he'd always considered them thoughts of admiration and respect for a friend. He slipped his arms around Amy's waist, surprised at the softness of her skin. "Amy, I... I'm happy to be of help."

He could feel Amy's arms around him, pulling each other close. "You were more than a help, Rolf," she whispered. "More than you'd think."

"Amy, this moment, these feelings... these are here because of you. Your healing abilities, your care for all of us..." He clutched the doctor tighter to him. "None of it would be here if you hadn't kept us all alive. If you hadn't kept me alive when we fought Mother Brain-"

"No, Rolf. Don't say that. I don't want to think of an Algo without you."

Rolf hesitated, only for an instant, before bringing his lips to meet Amy's. Their eyes closed, as if they had mutually expected this kiss, this very moment. Neither of them uttered a word, only sighing in content as Rolf's tongue started prodding Amy's lips, as if asking for permission.

He pulled away from her, her lips parted slightly, as they looked at each other. Both of them were blushing, their arms still entwined around each other. Realization struck both the agent and the doctor at that moment, and their kissing renewed with a newly-found passion. Amy was scarcely aware of Rolf lifting her up, supporting her weight; movement; the feeling of Rolf's bed at her back. Her heart started racing, as if she knew what was going to happen next.

-=-=-

It was as if Destiny had created this moment just for them. For once in Rolf Eushys's and Amy Sage's lives, there was no tension. The anxieties and fears built up over the last two years had melted away, their touch a salve to their problems.

There was no workplace stress, no fear of the future, no worries about life. There was just a young man and a young woman, united in their passion.

-=-=-

"Rolf?"

The blue-haired man next to her in the bed stirred, turning to her. "Amy, it's... it's four in the morning," he whispered, his slight irritation disappearing as Amy slipped an arm around him.

"I love you."

His eyes opened, and he looked at his red-haired bedmate. A smile crept across his face as he replied, "I love you, Amy."

"I don't want this moment to end. I don't want this to end."

"It doesn't have to, Amy," Rolf whispered to her. "And you know I'm never gonna let it."

"I'm glad we spent Valentine's Day together, Rolf."

"Me too, Amy."

Amy traced her finger across Rolf's chest, the pink nail dancing across traces of lipstick she had left behind. "Rolf, thank you for needing a doctor two years ago."

"Thank you for being that doctor."

As Amy snuggled closer to him, Rolf asked, "Amy, have you heard the phrase, 'the other half of my soul?' I think you're it."

"I like that. If I'm half of someone's soul, Rolf, then I'm glad it's yours."

Rolf smiled, tracing his finger across Amy's lips. Taking her hand with his other hand, he added, "Amy... beautiful Amy, thank you. Thank you for being you."

Amy smiled as Rolf kissed her. "Good night, Rolf... my warrior of light."

"Good night, Amy... my salvation."

The two settled into a peaceful sleep, both of them thinking the same thing: Surely the Great Light had brought them together.

Little did they know, they were right.